Wormwood
''Wormwood: Curious Stories From The Bible ''is an album by The Residents, released in 1998. A concept album, Wormwood ''relates a number of "curious" and often violent or disturbing Biblical tales. History and concept Released in the fall of 1998, ''Wormwood was the first new dedicated musical project conceived by The Residents since the release of Freak Show ''in 1991. The seven years between saw the production of a number of multimedia works, but nothing which was conceived of, from beginning to end, as an album in the classical sense. In ''Wormwood, the group explore the dark side of the Christian Holy Book with songs based on twenty of its tales. In the press release which announced the release of the album, The Residents (via Uncle Willie) explain that they are not interested in criticizing or attacking the Bible, but rather in reminding listeners that it is not all "Love Thy Neighbour" and uplifting morality. The album is focused primarily on the Old Testament, with its short-tempered and vindictive God visiting all sorts of unpleasantness on the Israelites and their neighbours. Three tracks, "How to Get a Head", "Judas Saves" and "Revelation", are from the New Testament. Wormwood makes use of a number of credited guest musicians. Carla Fabrizio, Richard Marriott, and Pavers contribute instrumental work, while Diana Alden, Laurie Amat, Wayne Doba, Linda Goldstein, Molly Harvey, and The Mystery Dude augment the vocals. The album also features the introduction of Nolan Cook on guitar. Cook would go on to appear with The Residents as their primary guitarist on most albums and live tours after this point. Release and tour In a first for The Residents, they provided special preview copies to fans in 12 cities around the US, Canada, and Europe. These fans each hosted special preview listening parties to celebrate the new album. In October, the album became the subject of The Residents' second series of Halloween concerts at The Fillmore in San Francisco. This live show was expanded with extra songs and new arrangements into a successful tour in 1999. The group would follow the Wormwood tour with the release of Roadworms: The Berlin Sessions in 2000. Roadworms includes alternative, live-in-the-studio versions of the tracks from Wormwood which had been developed throughout the tour. Track listing # In The Beginning (2:54) # Firefall (3:35) # They are the Meat (2:42) # Melancholy Clumps (1:44) # How to Get a Head (4:08) # Cain and Abel (3:38) # Mr. Misery (2:21) # Tent Peg in the Temple (2:56) # God's Magic Finger (2:50) # Spilling the Seed (2:47) # Dinah and the Unclean Skin (3:15) # Bathsheba Bathes (2:53) # Bridegroom of Blood (5:00) # Hanging by his Hair (2:37) # The Seven Ugly Cows (2:37) # Burn Baby Burn (3:02) # KILL HIM! (2:41) # I Hate Heaven (2:52) # Judas Saves (3:58) # Revelation (5:37) Outtakes & Related Tracks # Welcome To Wormwood # Mr. Skull's Rave # King Of Kings # Skull Prayer # Abraham # David's Dick # Attitude Is Everything # Old Time Religion # Jesus Loves Me All songs written for the 1999 Wormwood Live Show. (Except for 3, 8 & 9, which are covers performed on the tour) * Un-American Band Recorded during the 1999 "Roadworms" recording sessions. * Nober Recorded as an opening piece for Wormwood Live. But was scrapped due to negative response. * In Between Screams Song recorded in 1999 as intermission music for Wormwood Live. * Jesus SDavid's Dickaves Recorded for Wormwood. But was scrapped. Listen here : https://soundcloud.com/katje-borgesius/jesus-saves It is a variation of the song "Judas Saves" and last 8:24 Liner notes The Bible The word Bible means "book". In about 100 C.E. Christian scholars collected writings about the prophet, Jesus of Nazareth. Selecting certain texts, eliminating others, they canonized what is now the New Testament. This they combined with the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, to give a historical and philosophical context for their new teaching. While the Old Testament introduces us to the Israelite God, YHWH, as a dark figure bringing death whenever he appears, Jesus revolutionized the concept of God as a father figure. All Bibles are translations of translations of no longer existing original writings and, unavoidably, reflect the politics and religious prejudices of the organization paying the cost of the translation. Today, many narrow-minded people wield the Bible as some sort of razor with which to slash their enemies. Allowing those people to decide what is important in the Bible is dangerous to the freedom of individual thought. Though some of the Bible is abysmal and boring, much of it is entertaining and important reading. The Residents have tackled this book in all its complexity without the responsibility of the scholar. Though many months have gone into research, the intent of the music and lyrics remain within the realm of the inspired poet. The stories and ideas represented here are definitely in the Bible. The desire is to neither vilify nor sanctify the book, but to allow it to be humanized. For the Bible to be looked upon as spiritually uplifting is good and useful, but that view overlooks the Bible's abundant images of plague, torture and cruelty. It is this dichotomy that gives balance and substance to the book. Without both, the dark and the light, there is no measure of either, only the bland reassurances that pass for organized religion today. - Uncle Willie Credits Composed, Arranged & Performed By: The Residents Assistant to The Residents: Carla Fabrizio Producer: '''The Cryptic Corporation '''Executive Producer: David R. Fulmer Additional Instrumentalists: Carla Fabrizio, Richard Marriott & Pavers Additional Singers: Diana Alden, Laurie Amat, Wayne Doba, Carla Fabrizio, Linda Goldstein, Molly Harvey & The Mystery Dude. Cover Art / Photo of The Residents: Poor No Graphics Package Design: Karin Wittich & 4=1 Illustrations: Leigh Barbier Release History See also * I Hate Heaven * Roadworms: The Berlin Sessions * Wormwood Live * In Between Screams External links and references * Wormwoodat The Residents Historical * Wormwoodat MVD Shop * Wormwood at RZWeb * Wormwoodat Discogs Category:Albums Category:Wormwood